First Federal Savings Bank Of Angola

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL STRATEGY REPORTMARCH 1995BUREAU FOR INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AFFAIRS FINANCIAL CRIMES AND MONEY LAUNDERING11995 INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL STRATEGY REPORTOVERVIEWThere were a number of significant accomplishments in the world of money laundering in 1994, and a number of new and/or intensified concerns. Accomplishments and concerns are summarized here and explained in detailed sections below.Accomplishments. Several financial center governments, such as Singapore and Panama, have adopted broad, new anti-money laundering policies and/or laws, and a number of governments were in the final stages of presenting/adopting new legislation.The Financial Action Task Force completed the evaluations of each of its 26 member governments, all conducted by outside experts and all culminating in recommendations for changes and improvements which will be monitored through continuing examinations be ... [Read More]

Money Laundering and Financial Crimes

Lack of or inadequate "know your client" requirements to open accounts or conduct financial transactions, including the permitted use of anonymous, nominee, numbered or trustee accounts. No requirement to disclose the beneficial owner of an account or the true beneficiary of a transaction. Lack of effective monitoring of cross-border currency movements. No reporting requirements for large cash transactions. No requirement to maintain financial records over a specific period of time. No mandatory requirement to report suspicious transactions or a pattern of inconsistent reporting under a voluntary system; lack of uniform guidelines from which to identify suspicious transactions. Use of bearer monetary instruments. Well-established non-bank financial systems, especially where regulation, supervision, and monitoring are absent or lax. Patterns of evasion of exchange controls by legitimate businesses. Ease of incorporation, especially where ownership ... [Read More]

Country Commercial Guide

Rua Abilio Macedo n 6, Praia, Cape Verde   Tel.: (238)-261-56-16   Fax: (238)-261-13-55   Versão em Português [Read More]

Article Alert, Archives--Electronic Advance Documents

Under the Alaska Sex Offender Registration Act (Act), any sex offender or child kidnaper incarcerated in the State must register with the Department of Corrections within 30 days before his release, providing his name, address, and other specified information. The offender's information is forwarded to the Department of Public Safety, which maintains a central registry of sex offenders. Some of the data, such as fingerprints, driver's license number, anticipated change of address, and whether the offender has had medical treatment afterwards is kept confidential. The offender's name, aliases, address, photograph, physical description, driver's license number, motor vehicle identification numbers, place of employment, date of birth, crime, date and place of conviction, length and conditions of sentence, and a statement as to whether the offender is in compliance with the Act's update requirements or cannot be located are published on the Internet. Supporters of this practi ... [Read More]

Russia

In August 1999, the Government began a second war against Chechen rebels. The indiscriminate use of force by government troops in the Chechen conflict resulted in widespread civilian casualties and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of persons, the majority of whom sought refuge in the neighboring republic of Ingushetiya. Attempts by government forces to regain control over Chechnya were accompanied by the indiscriminate use of air power and artillery. There were numerous reports of attacks by government forces on civilian targets, including the bombing of schools and residential areas. In 2000 Russian forces began a large-scale offensive military campaign in Chechnya; that offensive campaign largely ended following federal occupation of most of Chechnya by the late spring of 2000, although federal forces remained engaged in an intensive anti-insurgency campaign against Chechen guerillas. In January President Putin announced that the active military phase of the struggle against ... [Read More]

Money Laundering and Financial Crimes

(1) As DEA also points out, "In some cases, the agent (business) may represent a variety of remittance companies. When this is the case, the agent may suggest dividing the deposit, sending a portion with each of the represented businesses (companies). Thus, detection is increasingly challenging."Federal authorities at the conference also highlighted the recent growth of smaller independent remitters (beyond the more established Western Union and MoneyGram systems), particularly of those providing service to and from Mexico. DEA reported that although these remitters provide important legitimate services to migrant worker populations, the location of these businesses, "do not necessarily parallel the employment centers for these laborers. Rather, it appears that the agent locations are primarily located in states without regulations governing the money services industry." ... [Read More]

Russia

Authorities attributed bombing incidents in Dagestan and several cities in southern areas of the country to Chechen rebels.Government forces and Chechen fighters have used landmines extensively in Chechnya and Dagestan since August 1999 (see Section 1.g.); there were many civilian landmine casualties in Chechnya during the year. b. Disappearance There were reports of government involvement in politically motivated disappearances in Chechnya; however, there were fewer reports of kidnapings than in previous years. The NGO Memorial claimed that federal military forces detained thousands of persons from Chechnya. Some of these persons disappeared, but most were released, often after their relatives paid a bribe. Memorial estimated that the number of individuals unaccounted for was somewhere between several hundred and a thousand. Former Presidential Representative for Human Rights in C ... [Read More]

M) Money Laundering and Financial Crimes

The following are summaries of the most significant priority issues:Refocus Efforts of High Intensity Financial Crime Areas (HIFCAs). HIFCAs are special, high-risk areas or sectors where law enforcement will concentrate its resources and energy to combat money laundering. The 2001 Strategy mandated that the HIFCA task forces become operational and conduct investigations designed to result in indictments, convictions, and seizures, rather than focus primarily on intelligence gathering. Each of the six HIFCA Task Forces is now actively working cases. HIFCA Task Forces are composed of, and draw upon, all relevant federal, state, and local agencies. The Departments of Treasury and Justice jointly supervise the HIFCA Task Forces, and the 2001 Strategy primarily tasks the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) and Justice’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section to develop an advanced money laundering training program to enhance the HIFCA Task Forces’ abili ... [Read More]

Russia (05/05)

An upgrade in Russian’s sovereign credit ratings by Moody’s to Baa3 in September 2003, and upgrade by Standard&Poor’s to BB+ in January 2004, reflects higher confidence in the Russian Government’s financial management. Credit ratings for Russian private debt remain low, however. Large current account surpluses have brought a real appreciation of the ruble over the past several years. The trade-weighted exchange rate of the ruble rose by 4% against the currencies of Russia’s major trading partners during 2003. Upward pressure on the ruble has been reduced by sterilization of some of the inflows and by channeling some of the government’s fiscal surplus into a stabilization fund. This fund will help cushion Russia from price shocks should energy prices remain low for an extended period. The ruble appreciation of the past several years has given back nearly all of the terms-of-trade advantage that Russia gained when the ruble fell by 60% during the 1998 debt crisis. Loan and deposit ra ... [Read More]

Switzerland (11/04)

Switzerland is a federal state composed of 26 cantons (20 are "full" cantons and six "half" cantons for purposes of representation in the federal legislature) that retain attributes of sovereignty, such as fiscal autonomy and the right to manage internal cantonal affairs. Under the 2000 Constitution, cantons hold all powers not specifically delegated to the federation. Switzerland's federal institutions are: A bicameral legislature--the Federal Assembly; A collegial executive of seven members--the Federal Council; and A judiciary consisting of a single, regular court in Lausanne--the Federal Tribunal--and special military and administrative courts. The Federal Insurance Tribunal is an independent division of the Federal Tribunal that handles social security questions; its seat is in Lucerne. ... [Read More]